FOREST PARK CIVIC ASSOCIATION MEETING
Date: 11 March 2025
Location: Epworth United Methodist Church
Meeting called to order @ 7:03 PM by Ed Vanasdale
The Pledge of Allegiance was recited.
Attendance was taken via roll call.
OFFICER REPORTS
President Ed Vanasdale – ed1vanasdale@gmail.com No Report
Guest Speaker: Ambrosia Lamar (manager from Woodward Park Recreation Center). Ambrosia gave a very informative talk about all of the many programs that Woodward is offering. The presentation, discussion, and Q & A session was lively and engaging. There are so many programs going on at the center most of those in attendance never knew about them. Please check them out – this is your community resource – your tax dollars are working hard at Woodward Park Rec Center. https://columbusrecparks.com/community-center/woodward-park/
Vice President Mark Bell – MarkBellncc@insight.rr.com No Report
Secretary Lou Bernard – loubernard3@gmail.com
- Attendance:
- Officers/Committee Chairs Present: EV, MB, LB, CL, MSg, RW, DVM, KVM, SL, CA, LH, EM, MSt, TS, KG, DP
- Officers/Committee Chairs Absent: QM, SB, AH
- Area Reps in Attendance: 1, 2, 3, 4, 9, 11, 12, 13
- Area Reps Absent: 5, 6, 7, 8, 10, 14
- Total meeting attendance: 30
- Reviewed minutes from February, no changes or corrections needed, minutes have been approved and were entered into the official records.
- Attendance Sheet thru March: Online
Treasurer Cheryl Lutman – cllutman17@gmail.com
- No memberships of any kind were received in February.
- Expenses include the Forester printing, security patrols, and an expense relating to the Trunk or Treat Event.
Public Relations Mary Sguerra – marysguerra@howardhanna.com
- Upcoming Community Garage Sale on Saturday, May 17th
- Also Gabby’s Night Cookout (Potluck) will be Saturday, June 11th more details to follow
Forester Editor Rita Woeste – forester_ed@fpcivic.org
- Articles by the end of the week. This Forester will be mailed out due to it being the membership drive month.
- We need volunteers to deliver the Foresters. You will need to deliver only eight times a year. Please help us out.
- March Forester
Supplemental Security Daryl Van Mercetta – dvanmercetta@gmail.com, Katie Van Mercetta – kvanmercetta@gmail.com, Dan Yandrich (CPD Liaison Officer) – dyandrich@columbuspolice.org 614.645.1418
See the report in the Forester.
Business Representative Sheridan Landon – slandon52@gmail.com
Been out to 3 different businesses. Trying to get smaller businesses who may be interested in a cheaper way to advertise.
Civic Action Officer Vacant
COMMITTEE REPORTS
Welcome Committee Chair Laura Hayes – hayeslaura2@gmail.com
- Thank you, Katie, for helping update the 2025 Membership form. We hope the changes are approved this week and we can print the updated form for the new welcome folders. (Changes were approved at the budget meeting on 12 March).
- We are still working on gathering updated resources for the welcome folders, if anyone wants to volunteer some time to help in this effort, please contact me! 614-736-8812 thanks.
Volunteer Coordinator Erin Materu – mmateru@hotmail.com
- We have over 20 households and counting for the Tree grant!
- Will be contacting people to help with the April membership stuffing.
- We may have found a person to take over the position of the Civic Action/311 officer. Updates next month.
Membership Coordinator Mike Stone – msto0103@yahoo.com
- We are set for our membership envelope stuffing day on Saturday, April 5th at Schoedinger-North. Right now, unless we need to adjust to accommodate Schoedingers, the arrival time will be between 12:30-1:00 PM and we will start stuffing at 1:00 PM.
- Last year was AMAZING and we are hoping to replicate our two hour pace. To do so, we could use 20-22 stuffers.
- For the period following the post office delivery date (April 7th), we wish to coordinate with our amazing social media team to help keep the drive current, particularly for the period before Independence Day and would love to hear other ideas to make that possible.
- Discussions were held to make the mulch sale open only to FPCA members. This idea was voted down. It is a significant fundraiser for the FPCA and will be open to all FP residents.
Social Activities Tiffany Smith – tsmith1599@yahoo.com No Report
NCC Representatives Ken Gilbert – kgilbert78@att.net, Mark Bell – MarkBellncc@insight.rr.com
See the full report in the Forester
NCC Development Representative Ed Vanasdale – ed1vanasdale@gmail.com
See the full report on our website: https://www.fpcivic.org/development-reports/
Grant Writing Committee Chair Quentin Monden – q.monden@gmail.com
- We had a meeting on 02/16/2025 and currently applying for the Columbus Tree Assistance Program (TAP) Grant (due March 31, 2025) – https://www.franklinswcd.org/columbus-tree-assistance-program
- Laura’s Update: We have 20 people who would like trees, they all need to sign a release form and pick what type of tree they’d like to be submitted along with our proposal. We also spoke with Henry Stahl from the Franklin Soil and Water Conservation District and he said we have a strong proposal. Lastly, we plan to contact our Ohio State House Representative and Forest Park resident, Munira Abdullahi to ask if she’d like to submit a letter of support for our application.
Website Administrators Scott Biggs sbiggsmail@yahoo.com (Website/Facebook) Dave Paul dwpaul@fpcivic.org (Website) Ashley Howard ahoward@ashleynicolecounseling.com (Instagram/Facebook)
We have updated the Mulch Sale web page at fpcivic.org/mulch to get ready for the 2025 Mulch sale. As in past years, orders and payments are accepted online (in addition to manually using the paper form in the April 2025 Forester newsletter). We will promote the sale via the website, social media and in the Forester.
From Ashley: I have been researching social media management programs and will trial a free program. These will allow us to schedule posts ahead of time to allow for more timely and consistent content. Finally, these programs offer other marketing and analytic features. Some of them make it easier to manage multiple accounts from a centralized location; however, those will require paid accounts. Many of the social media management programs offer discounts for non-profits if we decide that we need a paid account in the future.
OLD BUSINESS
The sign that was run over (again) on the corner of Pegwood and Satinwood is in the process of being replaced by the city. (Note: The sign has been replaced as of March 17th)
NEW BUSINESS/ANNOUNCEMENTS/IDEAS
Our 2025 FPCA MULCH SALE starts in April
The FPCA will hold a 2025 Mulch Sale for all Forest Park households again this year. We deliver bags of mulch to your house. No lifting, no mess, and you support your civic association! Mulch orders begin in April with driveway delivery on Saturday, May 3. The sale is completely run by volunteers so no money is spent on administration. Every paper and online order raises money for the FPCA. Look for details in your April Forester, on the FPCA social media and on this website. We are looking for fit, young volunteers to help deliver mulch on May 3 from 9 a.m. to noon. Find more information at www.fpcivic.org/mulch.
The Board of Trustees will meet on March 12th for the 2025 Budget Meeting. (Minutes are posted online and in the Forester.)
Meeting adjourned at 8:07 PM
Meeting minutes submitted by Lou Bernard, Secretary, FPCA